Widows

As Dolly walked along toward the Dorchester, she could see Andrews in his car outside. He was every bit as predictable as she’d thought he was; a foot soldier, nothing more. As she passed his window, she couldn’t resist giving him a small smile. She tipped the doorman when he returned with her Merc, and then drove off like a cat who’d got the cream.

Back home, Dolly locked the garage doors from outside, allowing Wolf to have a pee in the front garden before heading in for the night. Usually she would have entered the house through the connecting door in the garage to the kitchen, but she couldn’t resist toying with Andrews, who had parked up in his usual place outside her house. As she took out her front door key and let herself in, Dolly smiled to herself, thinking how adept she was becoming at losing her police tail. But when she opened her front door, her smile turned to shock, a chill ran through her body from her head to her toes, and her eyes stung with anger as she took in the mess before her. The hallway carpets had been lifted, vases and figurines were knocked over, the upholstery had been slit open, houseplants upturned and the soil tipped out.

Noticing the light coming from the open lounge door, she moved slowly and quietly forward, tiptoeing over the broken debris.

Dolly froze as she heard the click-click of a record dropping down onto the turntable, then the eerie silence was broken by the words of her song filling the room. ‘What is life to me without thee, what is life if thou art dead?’ She slowly pushed open the lounge door and held her hand to her mouth — the room was destroyed, the stuffing hung out of her beautiful sofa, pictures were smashed. She had only just straightened everything out after the cops had turned the house upside down — and now this! Anger flooded over her and she kicked the door, causing it to swing open and slam against the cabinet behind it.

Boxer Davis jumped, dropping the framed picture of Harry he held in his hands. His suit and hair were covered in the fluff from the sofa stuffing and he looked so ridiculous she was suddenly not afraid anymore. Without a word, she walked over and lifted off the needle from the record on the turntable. Wolf whimpered, not knowing what to do, running round the room, getting tangled up in the torn cushions.

‘It wasn’t me, Doll, honest,’ Boxer whined nervously.

Dolly turned on him and screamed, ‘Don’t you dare call me that!’

Boxer was nearly in tears as he begged Dolly to listen to him. ‘There was nothing I could do. I couldn’t stop him. If you’d been here, Dolly, he’d have done this to you. I’m so glad you was out! I really truly am glad you was out!’

‘Who?’ Dolly said through clenched teeth.

‘Tony, Tony Fisher. He thinks you know where Harry stashed those ledgers.’

‘You stood by and let him do this? Watched him do this to my home!’

Boxer hovered around her, almost crying with the shame of what had happened, repeating again and again that he had nothing to do with the damage. ‘I’m trying to do you a favor, gal. I’m worried for you. They’re not offering money anymore. They want those ledgers.’

Dolly sat on her torn velvet chair and Wolf jumped up beside her. ‘I’ve told you! I don’t know where the ledgers are. I’ve told you and I’ve told the law.’

‘But they don’t believe you. I do though, Dolly, I believe that you don’t know. But they still have to be somewhere, don’t they? So maybe you and me could take a little look round? And Tony Fisher wants to pay the other widows a visit an’ all.’

Dolly felt her insides tighten. ‘Why the bloody hell would he want to do that? If I don’t know anything, they’re not going to, are they?’

‘Tony doesn’t think like that, Dolly. He just wants to hurt someone till he gets what he needs.’

Dolly sat with her head in her hands, desperately trying to work out if Tony could possibly know about her meetings with Shirley and Linda. She was always so careful, but she worried nonetheless.

Boxer was now sitting on his haunches in front of her, patting her knee like a great ape, his eyes blinking repeatedly. She wanted to hit him. She couldn’t take on the Fishers without a plan and she had no one to turn to. She needed time and she needed to somehow keep the Fishers away from the other widows. Her head was spinning.

‘How did Tony get into my home?’ she demanded.

Boxer smiled and pulled an old plastic card from his jacket pocket, holding it up for her to see.

Dolly stared at him. ‘You do know the police are watching me, don’t you?’

‘You’re not going to get me into trouble are you, Doll?’ Boxer was clearly unnerved. He hadn’t known. Would Dolly have him arrested for breaking and entering?